Towing and steering device



Oct. 12 ,1926. 1,603,104

' $.ANGROVE TOWING AND: STEERING DEVICE Fiigd March 17; 1925 A TTORNEYS.

Patented Oct 12, 19 26.

r samvs amaow, onrnovinnivon, RHohnIsL'AiTn rewrite AND'STEERINGbEVICE.a

- Appneafi mea Maren i7, .1925. Serial No. 16,254; a

This invention relates to an improved co'nstrnction of combinedtowingyand steering device forvehlcles; and has for its object toprovide a' device of this character adapted to be readily connected to.the axle and. to 1 the steering tie-rod "of the usual motor vehi 016;the device being also provided'with' a tow pole;'by a movement of whichpole the tie-rod will be moved relatively to the. axlev to;the axleclampsxand connected to the tierod clamp through a set of compensatinglinks, whereby achange in the distance between the tie-rod 'andthe axleduring the 20 steering motion, is compensated tfor.'-

A still further object of this inventionis the provision of means"wherebylthe steering wheelsmay beloeke'd againstfa steering or swingingaction dnringf-the towing 'oper'a l tion particnlarly where the reavrwheels are lifted free from: the groundandthe vehicle;

is being towedbaekwards.

The invention further-consists in the-.pro-' Vision offa 'tovvp'oleextensionmember which is adap'ted'tobehonnected to the'free end of thelever to exteridback'ibeneaththe leverand to which the towpolemay beconnected for rise ,inmcases' where the steering tie-rod ofithe vehicleaxle. I

invention: consists of certain novela-featlires n of 'coiistruction, aswill be morefully de M? appendedclaimsig 1 V n I In the-accompany ngdrawings; 5

r I Figure :1 is a .top;v1evv.s'l10vving;the front axleof a vehicle andits steering tieerod and i improved towing and; steering device as?clainpedin operating positiontohoth these.

'' members".

I Figure 2 is anfe iarga top as of my improved towing and steeringdeviceshowing a portionfof the axle in section anda 0 portionofthetier'od; also aportion dfthe struetion illiistrated in Figure 2; t

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the tovv pole extension memberwhiohisadapted'to 1 be employed when the tiesrod'is positioned is"located :in front: instead l of atf'the 1 rear.

With these and other objects in jview', tii

} scribed;-andiparticnlarlyLpointedout in the,

" a; ingone me'ans'b Figure dis a .ievatioiijd"mesoniront oii'theforward thejrear thereof.

member. in operating i position. a

bearings;arepivotally attached to the foraxle instead of in 1 .Fi'gure'5illustrateslthe tow-pole extension I v 6O It is found in towingmotorflvehicles'such -V as automobiles-and the-like, where its wheel Xwai'd'axle-to swing relatively thereto and V i the two wheels areconnected together advantage to throngh a steeringtie rod, of provlde adevice. by which the vehicle may be. towedan'dproperly guided withoutthe a necessity of employing a person atthe steerlngiwheel'of thevehicle being towed, and

to accomplish this in a simple and effective the two connected by alever operatively pivotedto one ofithese clamps and connectedto':the.other through asset ofcompensating links to takecar'e It is alsofoundofadvantage to be able to lock the lever and tie-rod ,so ,as v toprevent, the wheels from swinging duringithe towing oi". the vehicle.backwarchwith its rear wheels" raised 'fromqthe groundl It isalso foundto be of advantage in the use of this device.

toemploy v a towpole extension "member tov way I'have provided avdevicewhich maybe i i readily clam ed to the axle of the vehicle" andalso to t 'e steering tie-rod thereof and of the ehanges in distancebetween thetie-rod and axle while steering:

be used wherethesteeringtie-rod isp'Osi-f 'tioned in front of theaxle,-and in which case it is necessary to turn my device 'end for endand in Such cases thejexten'sion isi Irsedto' connect'the free 'end ofthe lever,

which is, in this ;case, atthe.rear, to the towfollowlng is a detaileddescription of the present embod'iment of, my invention show results-I'may be 'accomplishedz pole, as is illustratedin Figure 5; and the i I ywhlch these advantageous .ignfates theiforward 'a-xle oftheinsual motor"vehicle on the ends of which thetrn'n nions '12 are pivoted at, Handon'whieh triin'nions -s the wheels l3 -are monntedg Thesetrun nilons'are connected togetherfby a tie-rod 14;

through .theai'ms 15, and a steering or swinging action of these wheelsis imparted" from. the usual hand-steering,wheel ofthe vehicle rod 16.

necessity of employing a' man at the steer-v ingwheel, I have formed aclamping mem; t;

In order to 'provide, andleiiectixjwe meansj f or steering'the'vehiclewithout the (not shown), through-the connecting of the lever ber 17which is adapted to gripthe front axle 10 of the vehicle by screwing upthe nut 19 to close its jaws, and in order to,

connect this device to the tie-rod 14, I have provided a clamp 20adapted'to grip this rod by setting up the bolts 21, to close its jawsupon the rod.

In order to impart a steering or endwise movement to this rod 14relatively to the axle 10, I have provided a lever 22 which is' pivotedto the clamp 17 on the bolt 23, the rear end of this lever being'pivotally con- 'nected through'the two links 24L and 25 to thedownwardly-extending arm 26 of the clamp 20, whereby these two linksserve to provide a universal joint which will accommodate itself to'and'compensate for the varying distances between the tie-rod and theaxle during its endwise movement in swinging the wheels to perform asteering action. The pair of links 25 being pivoted to the arm-26 by apin 27 and are pivoted to the end of link 2a through a pin 28, whilelink 24; has a vertically-disposed pin 29, which arrangement of pivotingpermits oi"? universal movement.

I Ordinarily this tie-rod la is located to the rear of the axle 1.0 andwhen so located the free forked end 30 of the lever 22 serves to receivethe tow-pole 31, the opposite end of which ordinarily is firmlyconnected to the rear of the vehicle doing the towing,

whereby a lateral movement of this outer end of the pole causes thelever 22 to swing on its pivot 23 and to move the tie-rod 14 endwisethus causing the wheels 13 to swing on their respective pivots toautomatically steer the vehicle being towed and cause it to 'follow'theone ahead and that without the necessity of positioning a man at itssteering wheel.

In some instances, where the tie-rod li is in front of the axle 10, thelever 22 is reversed end for end, the forked end 30 being then at therear and in order to attach the towpole to this forked rear end of thelever, I have provided a towpole. extension member '32 which is arrangedto be pivotallyj coi'inected'at 33, see Figure 5, to the end 30 neaththis lever. llhis extension member is also provided with a forked end34: which receives the end 31 of the towpole and by a swinging movementof the towpole through the extension, the proper steering movement isimparted to the wheels of the vehicle to cause it to follow the oneahead doing the towing. I i r i In some instances, where a. seriousinjury has been caused to the rear of the vehicle, this end is liftedfrom the ground and the vihicle is towed backwards permitting itsforward wheels to rest upon the ground,

, and in this case it is desired to lock these forward wheels against asteering moveand to extend forwardly bement, and to accomplish this in asimple and effective way, I'have provided a hole 35 in the lever, offsetto one side of its pivot pin and I havetappeda hole 36 in the clamp ingmember '17 and'in'these holes I position a screw 37 which rigidly holdsthe lever against a swinging motion and thus secures the wheels againstany steering or swinging action permitting the vehicle to be towedbackwards withoutthe necessity of employing another person in thevehicle for steers,

ing the same.

M Y improved and practical in construction and is effective in itsoperation and by its use a vehicle may be towed forward by use of atowpole or backwardby lifting its rear wheels and locking its frontwheels against a steering movement, without the necessity of employing asecond person for steering the vehicle being towed.

The foregoing description is directed solely towards theconstructionillustrated, but I desire it to be understood that Ireservethe privilege of resorting to all the.

mechanical changes to which the device is susceptible, the inventionbeing definedand limited only by the terms of the appended claims. r

I claim: 7

1. In a towing and steering device forvehicles, a clamp for gripping theaxle, a.-

clamp for gripping the steering'tiefrod, a lever pivoted to the axleclamp and connected through a universalijoint to said rod clamp, saidoint being arranged to compensate for distance between said clamps, andatowpole connected to the opposite end of said lever throughwhich thetie-rod may be moved to steer the vehicle;

2. In a towing and steering device for vehicles, a clamp for grippingtheraxle, a clamp for gripping the steering tie-rod, a lever pivoted tothe axle clamp and a universal joint comprising a set of two linkspivoted at right'angles to each other. connecting one end of said lever'to said tie-rod vclamp, whereby to compensate for varying distances andheights between the axle and tie-rod.

3. In a towing and steering devicelfor vehicles, a clamp for grippingthe axle, a

clamp for gripping the steeringtie-rod, a.

lever pivoted to the axle clamp and a bifurcated member, a-pivot pinconnecting the same to said lever, and links connecting said member andtie-rod clamp by pivotpins disposed at right angles to the first of saidp ns. Y I t I 4. An'attachment forthe steering mechanism for a towedautomobile or the like comprising clamping jaws for the axle, clampingjaws for the steering tie-rod, and means for connecting'said jaws toprevent relative movement between said axle and rod. 7

5'. An attachment for the steering mechadevice is extremely simple 7nism for a towed automobile or the like comprising clamping jaws forthe'axle, clamping jaws for the steering tie-rod, and means adjustablein length to accommodate diiferent distances between said rod and axlesfor rigidly connecting said jaws to prevent relative movement betweensaid axle and rod.

'6. A steering attachment for towing an automobile or the'like,comprising clamping jaws for gripping the axle, Clamping jaws forgripping the steering tie-rod ofvthe vehide, a steering lever .pivotallymounted on one of said jaws and connected to'the other for. imparting asteering movement to said tie-rod, and means for locking said'leveragainst pivotal movement-for preventing a relative endways movementbetween said axle and rod to" lock the wheels against through'saidleverinto said axle clamp for locking said lever against a swingingmovement to prevent a steering actlon on the wheels.

8. In combination with a vehicle having the steering'tie-rod forward ofthe front axle,'a towing and steering device for a Vehicle, comprisingaclamp for gripping the vaxle, a lever pivoted to said'clamp and hav-"ng means at one end for connectlngto thesteering t e-rod, and anauxlllary bar 'having one end attached to therear end of said leverandbent downwardly and under said axle and tie-rod to be engaged atitsopposite end by said towpole.

9.'In combination with a vehicle having 7 the steering tie-rod forwardof the front axle, a towing and steering device for a vehlcle, comprismgaclamp for gripping the steering tie-rod, and an auxiliary connectormember'havlng one end attached. to the rear axle, a lever pivotedto saidclamp and haw 111g means at one end for connecting to the i end ofsaidlever-and bent downwardly to extend forwardly beneath saidaxle andtierod and bifurcated atits opposite end to receive the end of atowpole.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature. V

. SAMUEL ANGROVE. v

